Fireflies
by MozaikPanda
Summary: Throughout her whole life, Hotaru Nagasawa never stood out in a crowd. But when she steps into the basketball court and plays, that will be the only time she will shine and stand out. She glows brightly compared to the other players in the team, and she is the light they follow when they're lost.


Prologue

* * *

She was either really brave, or really stupid.

If anyone saw Hotaru Nagasawa right at this very moment, then that's what they would think about her just from watching her talk with the her captain.

"But what I'm saying is true. You're not being a good captain." she calmly told her captain, Ayame, who was silently fuming in anger. You could tell just by looking at her that she was furious and irritated at her. Ayame's face was red from both anger and embarrassment and she clenched her teeth so that she wouldn't scream at Hotaru.

It was currently basketball practice at Kaijou High in the afternoon. You could hear the squeaking of sneakers, the ball being dribbled on the floor, and the swish of the net whenever someone make a shot. All of that stopped and became silent in the gym, the happy air around them becoming tense once the shorter girl stood up to her tyrant captain. She was practically being towered over, yet she was acting very calm despite the situation she put herself in.

"And why do you think I'm not a good captain Nagasawa? Please enlighten me." Ayame said in a nonchalant tone, thinking whatever the second-year said was just pure nonsense. She was just angry by how cocky she was acting.

"Well, basketball is a team sport right? You're the captain and you should know that, yet you ball hog too much." Hotaru told her bluntly while some girls nodded their heads, meaning they knew of that fact already.

"So what? I'm the captain, I lead you guys through the game since the captain's the leader. I'm only helping us get the points so we won't lose." she gave a scoff at the her explanation. She acted as if she was still confident in winning the argument, but she was getting a little nervous.

"So you're saying that you don't trust us? That's another thing you need in basketball. I mean, look at Kise and Kasamatsu; Kise's the ace and Kasamatsu's their captain, and you don't see them ball hogging. They trust each other." the other girl protested, gesturing to the two male basketball players who only blinked in surprise at the mention of their names.

"You don't cooperate well with us either, and that's one of the most important things you need to have in basketball." Hotaru continued her argument while Ayame stayed silent, her eyes wide in shock from all of the things she explained thoroughly and clearly. She couldn't protest, because everything she was explaining was indeed true.

"Alright, that's enough." Everyone turned to look at their coach, Genta Takeuchi. He had a stern expression on his face as he looked at the two girls. "Kuramoto, it looks like I've overestimated you. Nagasawa, you're now captain of the girls' team. Kuramoto, you'll be replaced by Oshiro and won't play in games until you've learned more of how to play in a team."

No one went after Ayame when she stormed out of the gym while the girls exchanged high fives and fist bumps.

"I do feel a bit bad for her though." Hotaru mumbled under her breath, her gaze still at the door Ayame just stormed out of.

"Huh? Did you say something Hotaru-senpai?" a first-year girl asked her as she walked by. She shook her head and sighed, giving her a small smile.

"It's nothing Keiko-chan."

* * *

"I… Almost wish that… Kuramoto was still captain…!" one girl panted out, gulping down the water as she wiped the sweat dripping down her forehead with a towel. Some others nodded, agreeing with her as they too looked sweaty and tired.

"By next week, you guys would have more stamina and strength Mayumi-senpai." Hotaru told her, sitting down on the bench. She looked fairly tired, but wasn't as worse as the rest of the girls.

"Was I the only one who's fine with the practice?" Keiko asked everyone, panting heavily and drinking some water. She laughed nervously when the rest of the girls sent her death glares.

"It was torture. Absolute torture." Natsuko, a second year, said. She shook her head and sighed, drinking some water.

"But you have the most stamina in the team…" Mayumi grumbled, rolling her eyes as she finished the rest of her water.

"That's because you're a super hard worker Keiko! Maybe even more hard-working than Hotaru-chan!" Ryoko, another second year, groaned out. She was probably the most tired out of them all, being the weakest in stamina. She was great in speed, but she can tire out easily.

"I guess…" she said, blushing from what she accepted as a compliment. She was the only first year after all, she had to work hard to catch up to her seniors!

"Alright, get back to practice!" Everyone immediately stood up from the benches and ran to the court from their coach's order. By the time they went home, they were be sore and tired from the practice. They were luckily almost done with practice, meaning a few more basketball drills and probably a scrimmage.

After what the girls described as torturous basketball drills, it was time for the scrimmage against the males' team, since they didn't have enough players for the girls to play against.

"Well, this is going to be fun." Hotaru smirked, an excited glint in her eyes as she glanced over at the boys' team. They were currently talking about their strategy and such, getting ready. Even if this was just a practice game, they didn't plan on losing.

"Okay, why don't we switch out usual strategy to that other one? You guys know what that is, right?" she asked them, while they all nodded.

"I'm up for it. I'd love to see the surprised looks on their faces when we go against them." Ryoko nodded, stretching so that she could be ready to play.

"Alright, let's go!"


End file.
